Regency Reader Questions: Daisy Cutters

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Thanks for the question, Snuggles, and for being a Regency Reader!

A daisy cutter is indeed a cricket term when used in combination with the verb pitch:

What is a half volley A ball that is pitched just beyond the length and not quite so far as a tice which grounds on or near the popping crease A full pitch or toss does not touch the ground until it is hit by or has passed the batsman A longhop grounds first some distance farther from the wicket than the length A lob is an underhand ball with a high curve and grounders sneaks daisy cutters and grubs are balls that are pitched at the bowler's feet and touch the ground many times between the wickets A good length ball is the perfection of bowling Outdoor Games and Recreations (1892)

It essentially refers to a ball that bounces multiple times before reaching the batsman.

I have also found it used in relation to horses:
DA‍ISY Michaelmas See ASTER DAISY CUTTER in veterinary language a term for a horse that goes so near the ground as frequently to touch it with the tip of his toes and to be in continual danger of falling Most broken kneed horses are of this kind Pantologia (1813)

or jockeys:

suck She sported her dairy she pulled out her breast DAISY CUTTER A jockey term for a horse that does lift up his legs sufficiently or goes too near the ground and is therefore apt to stumble Lexicon Balatronicum (1811)

Based on my research and the common usage, I suspect the term was first applied to horses and jockeys and was later adapted for cricket.  It did not seem to be commonly used to reference cricket until the late 19th century.

An etymology search suggests its earliest documented use as in the early 1790s, although I found it in Grose’s slang dictionary in the 1780s with the same definition as the Lexicon Balatronicum.  It would appear the phrase’s origins are from slang and is meant to be illustrative of the action its describing, essentially something low to the ground that would “cut up the daisies.”

Hope that is helpful!

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2 Responses to Regency Reader Questions: Daisy Cutters

  1. John Cragg says:
    June 30, 2023 at 11:19 am

    Very informative. Provides a phrase for verisimilitude for Georgian/regency novels not suitable for description of cricket at that time. Thank you.

    • Anne says:
      June 30, 2023 at 1:29 pm

      You are very welcome! This was an interesting one to dig into and gave me an opportunity to use Google Ngrams again, which another reader recommended.